Trouble
by emilyherondalecarstairs
Summary: Zoe Jackson lives a life of sad grades, a sad social life, and parents who are almost never around. After making a discovery about the disappearances happening at Camp Jupiter, Zoe hopes that finally people will begin to notice her.
1. Chapter 1

Zoe Jackson was late to school again, as she rushed to throw on a t-shirt and jeans. It was 8:30AM, and first period started in ten minutes. Not that it mattered, considering she'd been late every day this week. Ever since Annabeth had gone back to Camp Half-Blood in hopes of re-creating the camps infrastructure, given she had received a degree in architecture while living at Camp Jupiter after the war with Gaea, she had no one to wake her up. Her brother Lucas was shuffled to school with her father, who had become a teacher, and she was all alone in the house.

She rushed out of the house finally, after ten minutes of trying to find her Yankee cap that her mother gave her, to hide her fray of messy brown hair. With her backpack slapping against her as she ran, she made it to school at almost 9AM, almost half the period wasted and her history teacher giving her a scolding look before she plopped into her seat, luckily, near the front of the class.

After the bell rang to dismiss the class, Mr. Enoch called her up to his desk. She sighed profusely, already knowing what their discussion would be about. "Miss Jackson, have you been aware of your lateness this week?" He eyed her wearily. She boiled underneath his stare. He was her least favorite teacher.

"Yes, sir. Everyday, sir." She exclaimed with a huff, eyeing the clock. She knew she'd already be late for english, and Enoch would make sure not to send her to class with a late pass. Zoe tapped her shoe against the tile.

"I'm glad you're aware." He clicked something on his computer, and then she seen her name – and her grades. Oh, her sweet grades. Zoe almost choked, staring at her fifty average, sitting there, all in red. "Every day I deduct points for being late. The quarter ends on Friday, and frankly, there is no possible way you're going to pass."

Zoe trembled. She couldn't believe her failing grades were because of lateness. Every day. Annabeth would be very disappointed. But she didn't have to know, did she? Zoe could wait to spill the terrible news when her mother returned, which could be months from now. Some type of relief swept over her, but then Mr. Enoch spoke again. "It's not just your lateness, Miss Jackson. But your test scores aren't very exquisite either. I'd recommend a tutor."

The bell had rung twice. She was officially late for English, and was blasted with such bad news that all Zoe wanted to do was go home and sleep under her sheets with a good book. "A tutor?" she gulped, looking from Mr. Enoch to the clock on top of the door.

"I could ask one of my students to help you. One of my best students," at this, Mr. Enoch actually smiled, which was the most emotion Zoe had seen him express. Her history teacher pulled up a sticky note and wrote down the students email, sliding it towards Zoe. She took it in irritation, shoving it into her jean pocket. "His name is August. I'm sure he'll be a help."

Mr. Enoch didn't turn around again, and she walked out of the classroom without asking for a pass, knowing she'd go home after this. This was too much to handle. Failing classes, her mom gone on a trip for who knows how long, taking care of her brother – everything was overwhelming. It seemed as if all her responsibilities fell on top of each other, and suddenly Zoe was crushed.

Zoe left school that morning burning, and as she headed home, she slipped into her bed, and it was unknown to her what time she awoke. Her dad and brother luckily hadn't arrived home yet, and she cleaned herself up to make it seem like she'd been working hard at school and was exhausted, like usual.

In the midst of grabbing lunch – she hadn't eaten breakfast, yet again – her phone rang. The fast rhythm of Paramore strutted out, and she picked up her phone realizing her father was calling. Rolling her eyes, wondering what he wanted now, she pressed ACCEPT on her keypad, pulling the phone up to her ear. "What now, dad?"

He only laughed on the other end, amused by her attitude. " _She's a teenager," he had said to her mother when she answered her the same way, "she had a lot on her back."_ He had been right about that. "I need you to pick up Lucas at school. I have business to deal with after work."

It wasn't even like Zoe had a choice. Her father thought she was at school, and now she'd have to lug herself all the way to Jupiter Elementary to pick up Lucas. She sighed into the phone, muttering a quick, "Sure" before hanging up. She didn't give her father any time to respond. Before leaving, she crushed an apple into her mouth and headed out the door, making sure it was locked twice before stepping outside.

The walk to her brothers school wasn't as far as she made it out to be, but the weather was sweltering this time in the year, even though Zoe was still persistent on wearing jeans in any type of weather. The cap didn't do much either, as her hair soon became a puffy mess, thanks to the humidity and sweat collecting behind her neck.

Jupiter Elementary was large enough to be a high-school, with six floors and a bustling amount of children. Many parents came to pick up the kids, but some who didn't live on the other side of the camp tended to walk home alone. But her brother was only seven, and was not trusted. Zoe made her way through the lines of children, knowing that her brother usually waited at the far west corner of the school. He always sported a yellow backpack, his favorite color, but on this day, she hadn't spotted him. She waited for the kids to clear, and as they did, Zoe still could not seek her brother. She was about to call her father to ask if Lucas had had a playdate, because he was nowhere to be found.

"Lucas!" she called, worry, then dread began to fill her. Where could he have gone? Camp Jupiter was the safest place to live, there was borders protecting them everywhere. It was not like he was taken. Or could he have been? She looked between the now empty streets and the other end of the school. She didn't see any little boy with a yellow backpack.

Before she could call her father, she seen him coming towards her. She ran to him, arms outstretched, his face warm and happy, hers worried and sickened. She suddenly felt relieved, closing tight around his small figure before letting him go. Her dismayed face allowed him to become nervous. "Where have you been?"

"I was talking to the shadow-man," he said, bending down to tie his shoe laces. Zoe rolled her eyes, knowing fairly well that her brother was too caught up into his imaginary friends. She had told her father this, but like everything else, he laughed it off. Angry, but still relieved that her brother was fine, she took his hand and headed home, forgetting about the shadow-man and her worries.

During dinner, her father was looking at her with a knowing look, and Zoe wasn't sure what she was in trouble for: skipping school, failing a class, or both. She waited for her brother to head to the bathroom to wash up for the night before she turned to her father. "Is there something I'm in trouble for?"

Her father sighed. Percy, unlike Annabeth, wasn't hard on his children about their grades, considering their ADHD and dyslexia, which only went away when reading Greek. Her teacher had called him earlier, because he couldn't get in touch with Annabeth. "I don't want to lecture you. I know you try. But your mother, when she hears about this . . . knowing I didn't do anything. She'll kill both of us."

He smiled. She sighed.

"Enoch told me get a tutor, so I did. Doesn't mean I won't fail," she exclaimed, slamming her hands onto the table, almost knocking over the glass. "Its just too much, y'know? Mom gone, you're always at work, school overwhelming. I didn't even realize my grades were slipping until last minute."

Her father didn't know what else to say, so Zoe left it at that. She headed to her room, locking the door and blasting music that her mother didn't like. Her father reminded her of the email address Mr. Enoch slipped her earlier in the day, and she pulled up her laptop. Did she really want this help? _You need it,_ she reminded herself with a sneer, _mom might not punish you now, but she will punish you later._ With an exhausted sigh, she opened up her email and typed in his address and then sent him a message.

 _Dear August,_

 _Enoch said I need to be tutored in history, and he said your his best student to do the job. (You should be pleased). Anyway, considering I don't want to fail next quarter, I was wondering when we could meet. Just e-mail back when you have the time, and i'll let you know if I have the energy._

 _XX Zoe Jackson._

She pressed send, and then jumped into a deep sleep, exhausted by everything.


	2. Chapter 2

Zoe made it to first period the next morning, with the help of her father, that is, and even though Mr. Enoch didn't seem to be in such a bad mood, he still picked on her in class, which gave her much more reason to be late every day.

When school finally flew to fifth period lunch, Zoe slid to her normal table with a group of demigods who she'd grown up with. Not all people who lived in the camp were adults with children, who only hoped for a better future, knowing monsters lurked outside. Her friends were mostly parentless, except Kyle, who's parents were demigods. The rest lived in the cabins on the other side of the camp.

Many children still came into the camp, unbeknownst to them that they were in danger without the border of Camp Jupiter. The rest of the demigods were orphaned or something of the like - Greta was the daughter of Mercury, Willow the daughter of Cardea, and and Jared's mother was Nox, which was a kept secret between most. Many didn't want to associate themselves with someone related to death.

But Zoe didn't mind, and clearly neither did the rest. Out of their circle, they didn't associate themselves with anyone else, unless it was their siblings from their cabins. Greta had a lot of siblings, but people like Willow and Jared were not as lucky. They were alone in a whimsy cabin at night, wondering what life would be like if they were full mortal and had real siblings of their own.

"Where were you yesterday?" that was Willow, accusingly, annoyance clear in her voice, "I was alone in English."

Zoe grunted, looking at the curious faces around her. She was too angry and anxiety-ridden yesterday to tell anyone about what happened yesterday morning. Looking back at it now, it wasn't even that big of a deal. Her leaving made it seem like she was too weak, that she couldn't handle failure. But was it really failure that she couldn't handle?

"Enoch failed me. I got kind of emotional."

Jared laughed, and then looking at Zoe's stern face, added, "You serious?"

All she did was sigh. It had been hard to keep things from her friends; problems at home, with her parents, and problems with herself. She used to be so open, but she had come to a point where everything and anything she was feeling felt wrong to express, knowing she was guiltily leaving some burden on her friends. She couldn't go through with that.

The rest of the lunch period went by in quick conversation with the rest of the group who spoke about their chemistry text next period and the awful smell of the cafeteria which got a small laugh out of Zoe. Bu she left the table that our with a solemn face and a thought in the back of her head reminding her to check her e-mail about August. Tutoring would have to start soon, even if the quarter ended tomorrow and her report card was obliterated by an obnoxious 55.

She hadn't thought to check her email, but when she did, Zoe was surprised to see August had already responded, a long paragraph written to her earlier in the morning. She opened it hastly as she walked to class, not wanting to be late for Latin.

Dear Zoe,

It has been noted by Mr. Enoch that I am to tutor you, and although I can surely agree I am his best student, I'd have to say that its not all in my best interest to give you lessons on things that are easy and not tedious as you make them out to be. But, my grades are important and sucking up to a teacher is great for recommendations, am I right? Nevertheless, I can meet you in the library after school today, at 3, on Friday as well, if you'd like.

August Freed.

Zoe rolled her eyes, shoving her phone into her pocket before walking through the corridor, thinking about how obnoxious this kid sounded over the phone and wondered how quickly she'd get annoyed of him when they finally met in the library. Zoe had never heard of him before, and assumed he was some kid who kept to himself and never did much. August didn't seem too friendly, either, and Zoe knew for a fact that these tutoring sessions would not last long.

When the last bell rang, Zoe stepped out of class, making a pivot towards the library. She began to walk slow, knowing she should appreciate the time she would have not studying: even this serene walk in the hallway was better than going in the library and studying with a boy who was obnoxious and acted as if he was the smartest person in the world. She swallowed before going in, and then scolded herself for being nervous and self-conscious.

 _Well, you_ are s _tupid compared to him,_ noted Zoe, grumbling as she put her books onto the desk that were covered in elaborate drawings of penises and Latin phrases that Zoe couldn't care to memorize. That was something August was probably good at. He was probably good at everything, and Enoch had to be an asshole and fail her just because she came late. 70's on tests weren't that bad in her book, and now she was stuck in a muddy and humid room, wrapped in the sweat of kids who were busy doing projects and work, while she prayed to the God's that she could be wrapped in her bed at home, napping away like she usually did.

"You look prepared, Zoe. I'm surprised," she looked up, startled, and then scowled. He _did_ look like an asshole. Tall, an obnoxious smirk on his face that said, _Try me,_ and blonde curls that framed his face like a lions mane. "Enoch said you were usually unproductive and . . .useless."

"You don't even know me," she said, already feeling the urge to leave and throw all the books onto the ground and storm out like in those really dramatic shows. Zoe felt defensive and crossed her arms over her chest. "Don't listen to what Enoch says. But it seems like its too late, considering how far up his ass you are."

His face turned sour, but he didn't say anything after that. He pulled books out of his backpack and placed them onto the table, not glancing in her direction once. Zoe clasped her hands in front of her, watching him as he took out a pile of notes that was more intimidating than him. He smirked at her when he seen Zoe's face, "You were probably thinking this was easy, right? But that's not how this works."

Everything about him made her want to punch him. But she held back. For now.

"I didn't think this was gonna be easy, and that's why I made an effort to come, so don't be more of an ass-wipe than you already are, because you're starting to get on my nerves. And I don't care what happens if I punch you."

He laughed at that, "Is that supposed to be a joke? You can't even reach my face, being that you're like, what? Five feet tall?"

Zoe stood up, but he didn't look afraid. She was just close enough to make a punch for the jaw, and with the training of her father who had been in combat multiple times (as well as Annabeth, but she never shared any tips or tricks) Zoe could get a quick strike to the jaw that may or may not hurt. She hadn't tested her strength out yet. But she was hoping that those small sessions with her father would pay off, just this one time. And they did.

When she punched him, he seen it coming. His eyes were wide but she knew that he hadn't expected a blow that hard. An overwhelming feeling of nausea rested in his features as he floated to the floor in a heap of library books and loose-leaf. He hadn't made a noise after that, and all Zoe could hear was static. When she looked up from her trance, people were crowded around August, and someone was speaking to her but it was all white noise.

No one seen her throw the punch. No one even associated them together, so it'd be easy for Zoe to run off right now. To head out of the building and go home and just let Enoch fail her and never meet this asshole again, just to stay somewhat happy and to feel okay. And although something told her to stay, to see what would happen to August, she decided that she didn't care, and when the time came to play the blame game Zoe would have no choice but to take responsibility. But not right now.

Zoe grabbed her stuff in the fitful of people, shoving books and papers into her backpack, and ran out of the library. She rushed out of the building in almost a sprint, and walked home feverishly, as she couldn't wait to jump into bed and forget about everyone and everything. But this plan would only work for so long, she knew, as all she did was run away from her problems, and someday – and someday soon – it would all hit her full force.

There was one problem Zoe couldn't run away from, and that was her mother, Annabeth. She usually tried to call at least one a week, with her job at Camp Half-Blood taking up a large chunk of her time. Her father never really seemed to mind her absence as much as Zoe and Lucas, who although wouldn't admit it, considering their mother was too overprotective, too strict, and too demanding, they missed her.

Annabeth gave good advice when Zoe needed it, but when the phone was handed to her after Annabeth spoke to Percy for at least two hours, she knew that she couldn't tell her. By telling Annabeth tnat she punched a boy and ran, well, she'd be exposing two of her secrets. One, she failed a class, and two, she resulted to violence because she had been annoyed by her tutor that was obnoxious and annoying.

"Hi, Mom," said Zoe, sitting down on one of the kitchen stools. "How is everything?"

Her mother laughed, "I should be asking you that question. How's school?"

Zoe rolled her eyes, holding her tongue as she could have made a wise comment. Of course that'd be the first thing she'd ask about. "Everything is fine. School is the same as before. Nothing out of the ordinary." But she already knew her mother knew about her failing grades, and she just wanted to be condemned for it, and get it over with.

"That's good," she said, but her underlining tone made it known that she knew more.

The rest of the conversation was short: they spoke mildly about her mother's project at Camp Half-Blood, which would industrialize and make the camp much more tech, compared to Camp Jupiter. Her mother had been the only one good enough to do the job, she remembered her father saying, Chiron and everyone else at camp begged her to come back to Long Island to refurbish the camp, and although she was leaving them behind, it seemed the camp held a much larger chunk of her heart than her children did. But it wasn't something she found surprising or upsetting. It had been like this for longer than Zoe could remember.

But her mother never mentioned her grades after that, not a peep, not a question: nothing. Her mother spoke extravagantly about anything other than that, and when Zoe handed the phone to an excited Lucas, she wondered why. Sure, her father had some influence, but what could he really do to stop her from screaming at her for getting a 55 on her report card? She wasn't sure. But she didn't want to find out.


	3. Chapter 3

Report card day wasn't as dreadful as Zoe had anticipated. The 55 on her report card was nothing hut expected, but the only thing that kept persisting on the inside was her anxiety. She had punched August and left him in the library yesterday afternoon, and quite frankly, she suddenly felt guilt. She hadn't meant to him, not really that much anyway. Who knew a five foot girl could knock someone out? She hadn't expected that, but although some type of pride longed inside her, there was also a sense of sadness and sorrow, as she knew her mother would not be proud. But why should she care? Her mother didn't care about her, anyway.

Lunch was also quite tragic. Her friend's grades were the opposite of hers, and the feeling of envy was apparent. But she only comforted her friends when they complained about their 90 in all their subjects when she'd kill to have a passing grade in all of her classes. The only good news spread during lunch was that someone from the Jupiter cabin was hosting a party in one of the abandoned buildings on Camp Jupiter. The building was used as a storage for weapons, at one point, but was no longer used. That part of the camp was rarely regulated, and even if the party was spotted, no one would do anything knowing they were children of Jupiter. Perks of having a powerful father, Zoe supposed.

It's Saturday at nine," Jared explained. Out of the whole group, he had some connections. He was friendly with some Jupiter kids, and although they weren't exactly fond of us, they let it slide, considering Jared was 'cool'. But little did they know his mother was the goddess of death. Zoe wondered if that would change their minds. Probably quite a bit.

"I could sneak out," offered Zoe, throwing out her lunch and then sitting back down at the table, "considering with my failing grades i'm going to be on lockdown this whole weekend."

"Doesn't your dad know?" Willow interjected, cocking her head, "he would've punished you already."

"Not like he's gonna let me out, anyway. I'm still waiting for my mother to punish me. She mentioned school on the phone once, but then didn't bring it up again. I'm beginning to get suspicious. If I ever got anything lower than an 80, she'd kill me. This time I'm actually failing."

"Maybe your dad talked sense into her."

"My dad has influence on her, surely, but not as much as you think. Her standards are way higher than his."

Greta frowned. "At least you have parents that care. We don't have anyone."

Zoe scowled, "That's not what I meant. But you know how it is."

They just nodded.

The only thing that drove Zoe out of her reverie was a announcement over the loud-speaker. The cafeteria went silent at the whistle of one of the monitors. The microphone cracked before someone came over the speaker. "Zoe Jackson come to the principals office. Immediately." Zoe almost choked, but she already knew what the announcement was for. She looked to her friends who had a shocked face, and Jared mouthed, _What happened?_

The whole lunchroom was looking at her now as she got up, struggling to keep her head up as she left through the large double doors that headed out of the lunch room. She knew what she had done yesterday was wrong, and she walked away from her mistake. Zoe know knew something dreadful was going to happen, whether she'd be suspended or expelled was up to Mr. Friar, and now Zoe awaited the consequences of her actions.

The hallway was dark and dreary, and as she made her way to the office the door was already opened, waiting for her arrival. She could already hear chattering in the office, and could tell from the sound of Mr. Friars voice that he sounded extremely angry. Zoe swallowed.

"Ms. Jackson, glad to see you could make it." he noted, eyeing her and pressing his eyebrows together in a scowl. "It has been brought to my attention that you punched August yesterday in the face yesterday. Is this true?"

Zoe looked to August, who was emotionless. She swallowed. "Yes, sir," Zoe finally answered, tears pricking her eyes even though she was guilty. She dropped her backpack onto her floor and it fell with a loud bang. Zoe sat in the chair, her hands shaking as Mr. Friar eyed her and then continued. "You punched him, for what reason? Self-defense?"

"He was taunting me, sir, and I overreacted. I'm sorry."

"Sorry isn't going to cut it. I'm going to have to suspend you, although August has decided not to press charges. You should thank him, and apologize too, while you're at it."

She didn't apologize. She looked up at her principal. "Three days, maximum. You can come back on Thursday, and I've already notified your father about this and your failing grade in history. What a nice way to spend the weekend, Ms. Jackson. You're dismissed."

"Wait."

Both Zoe and Mr. Friar looked back at August, who had a frown on his face. "I don't want her to get in trouble. In part, this was my fault."

"Oh?"

"I did provoke her," he admitted, wringing his hands together. Zoe was shocked. August never seemed like the type of person to admit to something, especially something that could mess up his record. August added, "I think we just started off on the wrong foot. It's not that big of a deal."

"I see that you've changed your mind regarding Ms. Jackson's actions, but she did punch you, and violence is against school rules. I guess I will just have to suspend both of you, to make it equal, yeah?"

August was about to yell at him and argue, but he put a hand up and shuffled his papers. "You're both suspended for three days. Don't come back until Thursday. Zoe, your parents have already been notified. August, your cabin leader will be notified as well. You are also both dismissed from any sports or clubs for the rest of the month. You are both dismissed."

No one fought back, and as Zoe grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulder in a fit of exasperation, August followed behind, burning holes into her head. They both stepped out of the door of his office and slammed it loudly. Before she could turn around to say something, August had his hands in her shirt, pushing her against the wall. She caught her breath, her head throbbing from the force. She had no strength to push him off.

"If your dumb ass never punched me we wouldn't be in this position. I tried to help us both out by admiring to my fault in this, but it backfired. Now we're both suspended, and this is gonna ruin my perfect record. How are you ever going to repay me, huh? There needs to be some type of compensation here."

"There's no compensation," spat Zoe, trying to let go of his hold on her arms. She wriggled but couldn't get free. "If you never fucking yelled at me like the asshole that you are, I wouldn't have had to punch you. You've been running your mouth too long, and someone needed to shut you up."

He let go of her then. "There will be compensation for this. Mark my words, Zoe." With that, he shoved her once more and she landed back against the wall, seeing his blonde figure move across the hallway. She sighed, before gathering her strength to get back up. She headed back to class, even with an extreme headache, knowing that she was not wanted back home.

When she did go home, though, her father looked angrier than she had ever seen him before. He had his arms crossed, and his hand was twitching, which showed that he really was upset. Usually, he didn't take much thought to anything that happened at school. He was lenient and cool, but his face was redder than a tomato.

"Your mother was right. I shouldn't have taught you anything. You've used it unfairly and wrongly, and you've gotten yourself suspended for it. Suspended. His face was flushed. "With these failing grades and this act of violence makes me wonder if you''e okay. Are you, Zoe? Because if you're not, I can help. I'm here for you."

"He was taunting me, dad. That's how I responded. He's an asshole and acted as if everyone was below him. I put him in his place."

Her father sighed. "That's not how you put someone in their place, Zoe! You don't use violence, and you don't get suspended from school. I haven't told your mother yet: she's going to be disappointing in me for being a shit parent, and even more disappointed in you for failing her. You've got to get your act together. This is unacceptable." He started again before Zoe could defend herself. Her eyes were glistening with tears. "I've made the decision that you can't hang out with your friends anymore. You're to come home every day after school. No more hanging out, no more social life, and no more cellphones."

All she let out was a loud sob and a quick and jumbled "Im sorry" before slapping her cellphone into her fathers hand and running to her room. How could one little thing turn into a huge problem? Nothing would be the same now. And all it started with stupid Mr. Enoch, and now she was paying for it.


End file.
